Gog Umagog
Chayei Sarah – Laying Claim to Israel
Why do the children of Ishmael and Canaan lay claim to Israel specifically in front of Alexander the Great? Why do the responses come from Gevia the hunchback? Why does Alexander feel drawn toward Jerusalem? Why does he want to enter the Holy of Holies on the Temple Mount? What does it mean that Abraham…
Read MoreLech Lecha – Abraham's War and the Final War
What is the importance of the story of the war of the five kings vs. the four kings? What do our sages mean when they say that the war was about killing Abraham? Why does Abraham not accept the people of Sodom into his own care? What is the connection between this and the story…
Read MoreSuccos and Yosef
What is the connection between Yosef and Succos? Why do we read the prophecies of Gog and Magog during Succos? Why do we leave our homes and enter these temporary dwelling places? How do we remind ourselves of the fact that Hashem is constantly in our lives? Find out in this week’s parsha podcast. Running…
Read MoreBeha'aloscha – Trumpets and troubles
Why does Hashem wait for Moshe to command Him to travel? What is the concept of the trumpets? Why are they blown during the travels? Why are they blown at difficult times in Jewish history (Gog Umagog, wars of destruction)? What is the difference between the trumpet and the shofar? Find out in this week’s…
Read MoreJerusalem: Not For Sale
What is it about Yerushalayim that makes it so central on the world stage? Why does the United States government care if we build in our capital? Why does the Arab world get up in arms if we build a synagogue in our capital city? What is it about the current situation that is so…
Read MoreGog Umagog and Moshiach ben Dovid
I am happy to share another episode in my Moshiach podcast series, episode number six. Here is the itunes description: We explore the concepts of the war of Gog Umagog (armageddon), as well as the job and purpose of Moshiach ben Dovid. We also look deeply into a gemara in Sotah that hints to what…
Read MoreWhy Jerusalem?
I was shocked by Tomer Devorah’s post about the EU’s planned announcement that Jerusalem should officially be the capital of a ‘Palestinian’ state. It is on one hand extremely upsetting, and on the other hand extremely exciting, as we watch the drama unfold right in front of our eyes. We all know that the Neviim…
Read MoreGog and Magog kuntres
Here is a download of a very nice piece by R’ Daniel Krentzman on the topic of the war of Gog and Magog: http://www.arigoldwag.com/krentzman/Gog%20and%20MaGog.pdf
Read MoreDeath of Moshiach ben Yosef
The death of Moshiach ben Yosef is a very interesting topic, and needs explanation and discussion. The only time that Moshiach ben Yosef is mentioned in the Gemara is in Succah daf 52A. There the Gemara brings the passuk in Zechariah (12) which speaks of a great eulogy which will take place in the times…
Read MoreSeventy years
In the previous posts we saw that there is a significant period of seventy years that constitutes the ‘pregnancy’ of the redemption. It is characterized by a ‘conception’ which is especially difficult, and a ‘birth’ which is difficult as well. In light of this, the story that I mentioned a while ago becomes ever-so-interesting. Here…
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